Damocles

American  

[dam-uh-kleez] / ˈdæm əˌkliz /

noun

1. a flatterer who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was seated at a banquet with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair to show him the perilous nature of that happiness.

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idioms

1. sword of Damocles, any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

Damocles British  

/ ˈdæməˌkliːz /

noun

1. classical myth a sycophant forced by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to sit under a sword suspended by a hair to demonstrate that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was See also Sword of Damocles

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Other Word Forms

• Damoclean adjective

Example Sentences

Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down, but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.

From MarketWatch

But even then, the rare earths situation could stay unresolved, “hanging like a sword of Damocles over many companies’ heads,” Gave says.

From Barron's

"And now there is a real Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of Perrier."

From BBC

After more than a year, the Maryland bar dismissed the charges; the D.C. bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for another eight years, rendering me both unemployed and unemployable.

From Salon

He said many veterans now effectively had a "sword of Damocles hanging over them again".

From BBC